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Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 1999 



Miscellaneous Services 



The Unit also provided various "spot services," including 

 signage for the Smithsonian Craft Show, new donor plaques 

 for the James Smithsonian Society, custom lettering for a 

 historic aircraft undergoing renovation at NASM's Garber 

 facility, redesign of the Unsung Hero employee pin, kiosks 

 for the Horticulture Services Division display at the Atlanta 

 and Newport, Rhode Island, flower shows, and support serv- 

 ices and signage for the new Affiliations program's annual 

 Roundtable. 



Outreach and Training 



Modelmaking staff conducted a Summer Workshop for 

 Teachers organized by the Smithsonian Office of Education 

 and provided training in mold making of crabs for the 

 Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. 



Office of Fellowships and Grants 



Roberta W. Rubinoff, Director 



Support from the Office of Fellowships and Grants enhances 

 the quality, quantity, and diversity of research conducted at 

 the Smithsonian. Each year, nearly 800 students and scholars 

 come from universities, museums, and research institutes 

 throughout the United States and abroad to use the Institu- 

 tion's collections and facilities. The office manages 

 centralized competitive internship and fellowship programs, 

 as well as competitive grant programs that support Smith- 

 sonian staff research. This office also administers all stipend 

 appointments offered by the Institution. 



Eighty-four awards were offered to graduate students, pre- 

 doctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior scholars 

 through the Smithsonian Fellowship Program. The individ- 

 uals conducted independent research in fields actively 

 pursued by the Institution, utilizing the collections and fa- 

 cilities. Through the office's minority internship programs, 

 38 students came to study and participate in ongoing re- 

 search or other museum-related activities. Fourty-six grants 

 were made through the office's competitive grant programs 

 for Smithsonian staff. 



Among this year's fellowship recipients are Jorge Duany 

 of the University of Puerto Rico and Mark Farris from the 

 State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Duany 's 

 research focused on the construction and representation of 

 cultural identities in Puerto Rico and the diaspora, working 

 at the National Museum of American History with Marvette 

 Perez, curator in the Divison of Cultural History. He was a 

 senior fellow in the Latino Studies Fellowship Program, 

 which broadens and increases the body of Latino-related re- 

 search. Mark Ferris was a Smithsonian Institution 

 Predoctoral Fellow at the National Museum of American 

 History with Lonn Taylor. His research explored the histori- 

 cal and symbolic significance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

 This work will expand the understanding of national iden- 



tity and the evolution of patriotism in the United States as 

 reflected in the debates that raged over the national anthem. 



Through the Scholarly Studies Program, Christraud 

 Geary, curator of the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at 

 the National Museum of African Art, is leading a project 

 which looks at the representation of African art in modernist 

 photography. This research will increase the understanding 

 of the relationship of Primitivism to that of modern art. 



Office of International Relations 



Francine C. Berkowitz, Director 



As the Smithsonian's liaison with individuals and institu- 

 tions abroad, as well as with international organizations and 

 government foreign affairs agencies, the Office of Interna- 

 tional Relations (OIR) fosters the Institution's position as a 

 global center for research and education. 



This year, OIR staff represented the Smithsonian or the 

 scholarly community in a number of official meetings and 

 consultations, including State Department and U.S. Infor- 

 mation Agency discussions about changes in the rules 

 governing cultural exchange with Cuba; a World Bank- 

 Organization of American States symposium on the preser- 

 vation of cultural heritage in Latin America; and meetings of 

 the Inter-American Biodiversity Informatics Network. The 

 office was also involved in visits to Washington by scientific, 

 cultural affairs, or museum officials from Belize, Burma, 

 Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Haiti, Iran, 

 Luxembourg, and Peru. 



The office coordinated an Institution-wide project to de- 

 velop an exhibition and symposium commemorating the 

 bicentenary of Felipe Poey in early 2000. This pioneering 

 Cuban biologist, an early friend and correspondent of the 

 Smithsonian, was one of the first naturalists ro develop a 

 concept of biodiversity. 



Foreign officials who visited the Smithsonian this year 

 included the president of Colombia, the queen of Jordan, 

 the president of Ecuador, the first lady of China, the queen 

 of Bhutan, and the president of Panama. For the visit of 

 Cuba's vice-minister of culture, OIR organized a briefing 

 by representatives of 25 Smithsonian units. OIR handles 

 arrangements for visits such as these and serves as internal 

 adviser on foreign affairs and the Smithsonian's interests 

 abroad. In cooperation with the State Deparrment and 

 Smithsonian staff, OIR also organizes briefings on environ- 

 mental affairs for newly confirmed ambassadors before they 

 take up their posts abroad. 



Office of Sponsored Projects 



Ardelle C. Foss, CRA, Director 



The Office of Sponsored Projects served Smithsonian 

 researchers and scholars by supporting the work of approxi- 



